


A Punch In The Heart

by GreasySaevior



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: POV Gale, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 11:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8055037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreasySaevior/pseuds/GreasySaevior
Summary: Gale always scoffed at his mother’s assertion that one day he would meet a girl that would punch him in the heart . . . he really should have known better.





	A Punch In The Heart

     After my first few encounters at the heap, I thought I had the mastered the whole sneaking out of the house thing.  
     I really should have known better.  
    One afternoon, my Ma grabs my elbow and steers me into the kitchen without so much as a by your leave. I knew from the glare in her eyes that she knew about Phacelia, Violet or maybe even Mayapple. This was a Ma I hadn’t seen since my Pa died. The one with twinkling eyes, who would flick your ears when you said something disrespectful, and always knew when you were planning mischief. As much as I liked being treated as the man in the house, I had missed this version of my mother.  
     “First, be safe. The last thing we need is another mouth to feed. Ask around at the Hob if you don’t know what that means. Second, if she says no or changes her mind . . . then that’s that. Third, if it feels good to you, it should feel good to her. Fourth, just because a girl visits the heap with you doesn’t give you an excuse to disrespect her. . . And last, be prepared.” My Ma had stated matter of factly.  
     I thought that I had lucked out and that was the entirety of the conversation. I even thought it funny that my Ma had included the no baby making part twice. But I started to grow uneasy when my Ma broke into such a wide grin that she could have been a miner spotting the open sky after sixteen hour shift on a Saturday.  
     “Right now, you’s the one that’s leading them girls on a merry chase. But someday, some girl is going to come along that punches you right in the heart. Then you’ll be the one doing the chasing.” Ma finished with a gleam in her eye.  
     I suddenly didn’t find this conversation funny anymore. Ma is always right about these things. Her words might have as well been prophecy. I didn’t want to be beholden or enraptured with a girl . . . ever.  
     Right then and there, I vowed that I would hold myself aloof, so that no girl would ever be able to reach my heart.  
     I really should have known better.  
     I meet Katniss the very next day.  
    Though of course, it would be years before I realized that the scrawny wildcat I meet in the woods was the girl who would punch me in the heart. But from the very beginning, my Catnip has kept me off balance.  
    I was furious the first time I saw her. This small girl had already stolen a squirrel of mine and was eying my rabbit, However, I knew that she I asked for it I would have to give her the rabbit if I still wanted to call myself my mother’s son. I was trying to frighten her away from my prize, when she nonchalantly commits treason by pulling out her bow. And then she has the audacity, to toss my words right back at me.  
    I vowed then and there, that that was the last time Catnip would ever get the better of me.  
    I really should have known better.


End file.
